Miserable Faces

When Rabbi and Mrs. Shmuel Gorevitch were about to set out on shlichus to Lyon, France, they had a yechidus with the Rebbe. Towards the end, when they were about to leave, the Rebbe'suddenly turned to them with a smile and said, "In general, you should know that the French Don't like miserable faces." The significance of this seemingly strange statement only became apparent around five years later. By then, Rabbi Gorevitch had established a community of around several dozen Chassidic families and the time had come to open a school. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful building that they received from the local municipality. Even public schools were not normally allotted such beautiful premises, yet here was a private, religious school that would never usually receive any municipal assistance. When the local mayor gave a speech about the new school, the answer became clear. "When they submitted a request to the municipality to open a school," said the mayor, "I was very interested in finding out what Chabad is. People told me that they are a group of Jews who are characterized by working with joy. I therefore decided to give them this beautiful, big building because I, by nature, cant stand miserable faces."